The basic design of both manual and automatic food slicers has proven to be quite effective and durable throughout the years. Although various important improvements have been made to such slicers, the overall design has not changed very much particularly with regard to the overall cleanliness, ergonomics, or ease of operation.
Today, food slicers are utilized to slice a number of food products such as meats, cheeses and the like in a variety of environments such as delicatessens, supermarkets, and restaurants to name a few. Such food slicers need to be quite durable since they tend to be used for many hours during a day by many different individuals while providing the desired performance, safety and cleanliness.
Additionally, food slicers need to be quite accommodating since they need to handle a variety of products of different shapes and sizes while readily providing different thicknesses of the product being sliced. The speed at which a particular product is moved across the cutting blade also varies on automatic food slicers to improve productivity.
Since food product tables of food slicers move back and forth across the cutting blade, they typically are made from metal, such as aluminum or stainless steel, to decrease the weight. Although some food product tables have been formed from plastic, they typically do not have the rigidity needed to handle a variety of products over years of extended use.